Philippines Looking for Guinness Record for Donated Organs

The Philippines went all out this year for organ donations, hoping to earn a spot in the Guinness World Records. In this photo on Feb. 28, police officers show their support for the cause.

The Philippines is hopeful that the Guinness Book will soon recognize its effort to sign up thousands of organ donors as a new world record, beating the number set last year by its more populous neighbor India.

The Department of Health held the event in several sites around the Philippines on Feb. 28, with the goal of replacing India’s record for the most organ donors signed up in a single-hour at a single site as well as for the most number of organ donation pledges in one site in an eight-hour period.

On Sept. 17, India listed 2,755 pledges within the first hour of an event held in Gudjarat. For an eight-hour period in a single registration site, India’s world record is 10,450 pledges.

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The health department, through its Philippine Network for Organ Sharing website Lifeline.ph, said it eclipsed India’s single-hour, single-site record in two places: 3,548 registrations at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila and 2,981 in La Union, a province north of Manila.

The Southeast Asian country, however, failed in erasing the eight-hour record since the total for the entire period in multiple sites reached 17,856. The total for several sites in the first hour was 10,120.

Both numbers, the Health Department hopes, will be recognized by the Guinness Book as world records as well.

Aside from setting world records, the activity aimed to dispel negative perceptions about organ donations in the country.

“Organ donation is an act of legacy and salvation of one another. By pledging your organs, you say, ‘I will do it during life, and I will do it beyond life’,” said Dr. Antonio Paraiso, program manager for PhilNos.

Health Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag said in a speech at the Manila site, “Contrary to negative public perceptions about organ donation, signing up to be a donor is simply a pledge. When a person passes away from an accident, this will give the doctors the go signal to harvest the pledged organs for the transplant for those who need it most.”

In the past, there have been stories of Filipinos who are poor and marginalized selling their kidneys to foreign clients and rich Filipinos.

According to the health department, at least one Filipino dies each hour from kidney failure, the 9th leading cause of death in the country.

Health Department Undersecretary Ted Herbosa said the event also established an initial registry of potential organ donors in the country in a bid to address the significant demand for organ donors in the Philippines.

“Organ donation saves lives and it is very important that every person has the power to save a life by becoming an organ, tissue or eye donor. It is a noble gift because you can give someone a second chance at life,” said Mr. Herbosa.

He also said the activity aims to intensify public awareness on the importance and benefits of organ donation and transplantation.

“By having more organ donors in the country, life-saving transplantations will make possible for more patients every year,” Mr. Herbosa said.

PhilNOS data showed that among the most needed organs for transplantation are kidneys, livers, lungs and hearts.

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Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.

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